Religion as a Common Sense Category

In the field of religious studies, it is common to separate meta theories about the concept of religion itself into two equally problematic categories that both make claims about the truth of religious doctrine. This is done by attempting to define religion by historically excluding non-Christian religious traditions from the category, ignoring cultural context and dismissing the ideas of actual religious practitioners. Inspired by the works of Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Johnathan Z. Smith, I suggest that epistemological questions of truth fall outside the realm of religious studies, which should be objectively concerned with the study of religions as they project themselves onto the world. Following this, the category of religion should be used only as a linguistic convenience, for legal purposes and the expedient delivery of information, whereby the contents of the category are determined in-the-moment by the speaker and receiver in their own unique context. Freed from the self-indulgent shackles of these fruitless mental exercises, scholars will then be able to study religions in a way that is: inclusive of religious individuals whose beliefs about religious truth are unaffected by the opinion of the researcher; more appropriately considers the cultural context behind the development of each specific religion; and is more sensitive to the historical biases that have plagued the discipline and contributed to the marginalization of many non-Judeo-Christian religions in the English-speaking academic community

Now the wars are over: The past, present and future of Scottish battlefields

Battlefield archaeology has provided a new way of appreciating historic battlefields. This paper provides a summary of the long history of warfare and conflict in Scotland which has given rise to a large number of battlefield sites. Recent moves to highlight the archaeological importance of these sites, in the form of Historic Scotland’s Battlefields Inventory are discussed, along with some of the problems associated with the preservation and management of these important cultural sites

Optometric Measurements Predict Performance but Not Comfort on a Virtual Object Placement Task With a Stereoscopic 3D Display

Twelve participants were tested on a simple virtual object precision placement task while viewing a stereoscopic 3D (S3D) display. Inclusion criteria included uncorrected or best corrected vision of 20/20 or better in each eye and stereopsis of at least 40 arc sec using the Titmus stereo test. Additionally, binocular function was assessed, including measurements of distant and near phoria (horizontal and vertical) and distant and near horizontal fusion ranges using standard optometric clinical techniques. Before each of six 30 minute experimental sessions, measurements of phoria and fusion ranges were repeated using a Keystone View Telebinocular and an S3D display, respectively. All participants completed experimental sessions in which the task required the precision placement of a virtual object in depth at the same location as a target object. Subjective discomfort was assessed using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). Individual placement accuracy in S3D trials was significantly correlated with several of the binocular screening outcomes: viewers with larger convergent fusion ranges (measured at near distance), larger total fusion ranges (convergent plus divergent ranges, measured at near distance), and/or lower (better) stereoscopic acuity thresholds were more accurate on the placement task. No screening measures were predictive of subjective discomfort, perhaps due to the low levels of discomfort induced

Development of a Semi-Field System for Contained Field Trials With Aedes Aegypti in Southern Mexico

Development of new genetic approaches to either interfere with the ability of mosquitoes to transmit dengue virus or to reduce vector population density requires progressive evaluation from the laboratory to contained field trials, before open field release. Trials in contained outdoor facilities are an important part of this process because they can be used to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of modified strains in settings that include natural environmental variations without releasing mosquitoes into the open field. We describe a simple and cost-effective semi-field system designed to study Aedes aegypti carrying a dominant lethal gene (fsRIDL) in semi-field conditions. We provide a protocol for establishing, maintaining, and monitoring stable Ae. aegypti population densities inside field cages

Ecological Modeling of Aedes aegypti (L.) Pupal Production in Rural Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand

Background - Aedes aegypti (L.) is the primary vector of dengue, the most important arboviral infection globally. Until an effective vaccine is licensed and rigorously administered, Ae. aegypti control remains the principal tool in preventing and curtailing dengue transmission. Accurate predictions of vector populations are required to assess control methods and develop effective population reduction strategies. Ae. aegypti develops primarily in artificial water holding containers. Release recapture studies indicate that most adult Ae. aegypti do not disperse over long distances. We expect, therefore, that containers in an area of high development site density are more likely to be oviposition sites and to be more frequently used as oviposition sites than containers that are relatively isolated from other development sites. After accounting for individual container characteristics, containers more frequently used as oviposition sites are likely to produce adult mosquitoes consistently and at a higher rate. To this point, most studies of Ae. aegypti populations ignore the spatial density of larval development sites. Methodology - Pupal surveys were carried out from 2004 to 2007 in rural Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand. In total, 84,840 samples of water holding containers were used to estimate model parameters. Regression modeling was used to assess the effect of larval development site density, access to piped water, and seasonal variation on container productivity. A varying-coefficients model was employed to account for the large differences in productivity between container types. A two-part modeling structure, called a hurdle model, accounts for the large number of zeroes and overdispersion present in pupal population counts. Findings - The number of suitable larval development sites and their density in the environment were the primary determinants of the distribution and abundance of Ae. aegypti pupae. The productivity of most container types increased significantly as habitat density increased. An ecological approach, accounting for development site density, is appropriate for predicting Ae. aegypti population levels and developing efficient vector control program

Bistability in Apoptosis by Receptor Clustering

Apoptosis is a highly regulated cell death mechanism involved in many physiological processes. A key component of extrinsically activated apoptosis is the death receptor Fas, which, on binding to its cognate ligand FasL, oligomerize to form the death-inducing signaling complex. Motivated by recent experimental data, we propose a mathematical model of death ligand-receptor dynamics where FasL acts as a clustering agent for Fas, which form locally stable signaling platforms through proximity-induced receptor interactions. Significantly, the model exhibits hysteresis, providing an upstream mechanism for bistability and robustness. At low receptor concentrations, the bistability is contingent on the trimerism of FasL. Moreover, irreversible bistability, representing a committed cell death decision, emerges at high concentrations, which may be achieved through receptor pre-association or localization onto membrane lipid rafts. Thus, our model provides a novel theory for these observed biological phenomena within the unified context of bistability. Importantly, as Fas interactions initiate the extrinsic apoptotic pathway, our model also suggests a mechanism by which cells may function as bistable life/death switches independently of any such dynamics in their downstream components. Our results highlight the role of death receptors in deciding cell fate and add to the signal processing capabilities attributed to receptor clustering.Comment: Accepted by PLoS Comput Bio

Emergence of Skyrme crystal in Gross-Neveu and 't Hooft models at finite density

We study two-dimensional, large $N$ field theoretic models (Gross-Neveu model, 't Hooft model) at finite baryon density near the chiral limit. The same mechanism which leads to massless baryons in these models induces a breakdown of translational invariance at any finite density. In the chiral limit baryonic matter is characterized by a spatially varying chiral angle with a wave number depending only on the density. For small bare quark masses a sine-Gordon kink chain is obtained which may be regarded as simplest realization of the Skyrme crystal for nuclear matter. Characteristic differences between confining and non-confining models are pointed out.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, added reference, corrected sig

HOX transcription factors are potential therapeutic targets in non-small-cell lung cancer (targeting HOX genes in lung cancer)

The HOX genes are a family of homeodomain-containing transcription factors that determine the identity of cells and tissues during embryonic development. They are also known to behave as oncogenes in some haematological malignancies. In this study, we show that the expression of many of the HOX genes is highly elevated in primary non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and in the derived cell lines A549 and H23. Furthermore, blocking the activity of HOX proteins by interfering with their binding to the PBX co-factor causes these cells to undergo apoptosis in vitro and reduces the growth of A549 tumours in vivo. These findings suggest that the interaction between HOX and PBX proteins is a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC

Spatial Dimensions of Dengue Virus Transmission across Interepidemic and Epidemic Periods in Iquitos, Peru (1999–2003)

To target prevention and control strategies for dengue fever, it is essential to understand how the virus travels through the city. We report spatial analyses of dengue infections from a study monitoring school children and adult family members for dengue infection at six-month intervals from 1999–2003, in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru. At the beginning of the study, only DENV serotypes 1 and 2 were circulating. Clusters of infections of these two viruses were concentrated in the northern region of the city, where mosquito indices and previous DENV infection were both high. In 2002, DENV-3 invaded the city, replacing DENV-1 and -2 as the dominant strain. During the invasion process, the virus spread rapidly across the city, at low levels. After this initial phase, clusters of infection appeared first in the northern region of the city, where clusters of DENV-1 and DENV-2 had occurred in prior years. Most of the clusters we identified had radii >100 meters, indicating that targeted or reactive treatment of these high-risk areas might be an effective proactive intervention strategy. Our results also help explain why vector control within 100 m of a dengue case is often not successful for large-scale disease prevention

Quark-hadron duality in electron scattering

The duality between partonic and hadronic descriptions of physical phenomena is one of the most remarkable features of strong interaction physics. A classic example of this is in electron-nucleon scattering, in which low-energy cross sections, when averaged over appropriate energy intervals, are found to exhibit the scaling behavior expected from perturbative QCD. We present a comprehensive review of data on structure functions in the resonance region, from which the global and local aspects of duality are quantified, including its flavor, spin and nuclear medium dependence. To interpret the experimental findings, we discuss various theoretical approaches which have been developed to understand the microscopic origins of quark-hadron duality in QCD. Examples from other reactions are used to place duality in a broader context, and future experimental and theoretical challenges are identified.Comment: 198 pages, 80 figures, to appear in Physics Report